New Zealand reports 2 coronavirus deaths, Australia has 56

New Zealand has reported two deaths from the novel coronavirus, taking the tally to four as the country completed half of its four-week nationwide lockdown.

So far, the country has over 1,000 positive infections, with lockdown measures seeing the closure of schools, offices and non-essential services.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring Australia also recorded a dramatic slowdown in infections over the last week, with health officials describing it as encouraging signs of stabilisation.

The country has reported 86 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections to 6,238 and 56 deaths.